The King's Sorrow
by Lucien Jay
Summary: When the Evil King Stan comes back into power and feels lonely, he remembers Ari and tries to make him his "pet"! However, Ari mysteriously lost his memory. He seems to dislike Stan a lot! All of a sudden, Epros starts to take a liking to Ari!Lovetriangle
1. Stan's Request

Chapter 1:

_**Chapter 1:**_

_**Stan's Request**_

"Wonderful blonde hair, enchanting yellow eyes, tan skin, a nice body, amazing clothes…I'm the Evil King Stanley! I finally regained my human form and am an Evil Ruler again! What more do I need?" A man was saying to his reflection in a full-length crystal mirror that seemed to relax against the dark wall of his room. He scratched his chin meticulously, unsure of himself for a second. "Hmm…why does there appear to be something missing? Ugh!" Angry from his own confused thoughts, King Stanley, or Stan, raised his arms up in defeat. He almost punched the mirror, but it would have brought him more bad luck, or so the legends said. As if he needed to be in a worse mood by worrying about his luck. Even more furious, Stan was instead content on punching the wall_ next_ to the mirror with his bare hand. He only did it once, but even so, his horned, demon butler, James, rushed into the dark room worriedly. He threw open the door and cast in light, hurting Stan's yellow eyes briefly, although he said nothing about it. The King did not even toss in a grunt in protest.

"Mighty King Stan!" The butler exclaimed, concerned. "What is wrong?"

"It's nothing, James," Stan growled, almost snapping back at his faithful servant.

"Well, my lord, if you need to tell me anything, I am right here," the butler told his master. "You know I am always here, and always have been."

"Yes, I do know that. Right now, I request silence, please."

James stayed in the room, quiet. Just as his lord commanded.

"_Alone_." Stan continued as though he were stupid, his mood way beyond irate.

"Oh! Right, Sir!" James, always a little slow, finally left the entrance of the room, neglecting to close the door in his haste.

Sighing, Stan straightened himself up and closed the door to the room.

Maybe he needed some form of anger management relief. But he knew exactly what kind of thing would bring him relief, and that was what made him want to punch the wall in anger earlier. He wanted some sort of pet, but he wouldn't admit it to himself very easily.

No, not a dog. Nothing like that. A slave. One that remained by his side and could deal with his anger issues and help him relax easily and comfortably. Not someone like James. James was the sort of person who just helped serve him with tasks and things. Plus, he wasn't very human-looking, so he didn't match Stan's tastes. No, Stan needed some sort of…friend?

The King played with the word in his head. _Friend_. It sounded so kindergarten-y. No, that wouldn't do.

Slave was too harsh. Why not just call it what it was, then? A pet. A personal pet. Yeah, that sounded nice. _Pet_ sounded more kingly somehow.

Smiling for once, Stan was finally rid of his horrid mood. "James!" Before he finished saying his name, James burst into the room, as though he were five feet away the entire time the King was thinking. But now that Stan wasn't as angry as before, he ignored James's too-sudden entrance. At least he hadn't been talking to himself again.

"Yes, Master?" James asked, bowing.

"Bring me Ari."

O0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"I'm sorry, but the King wants to see Ari right away."

"Why ever would he want to see him? He's already helped bring him into power – but he needs a nice, long rest now. Especially because of his accident."

"Excuse me? Accident?"

"Yes, Ari doesn't seem to remember anything. He doesn't even know who we, his parents, are anymore."

"I see. I shall inform King Stan." And James turned, disappearing into a big, black passageway to tell his king bad news that would surely anger him.

A/N: I'm only just starting this story to see how it turns out…I might edit this chapter but I don't know…If I get enough reviews I might continue it and we can all see how this plays out, including me.


	2. Ari's Accident

Chapter 2:

**A/N**: I was playing Okage Shadow King, trying to beat the game (I just finished The Deep Grave Pit, BTW). I had been stuck in the Endless Abyss for too long, and I FINALLY beat that area. In less than two days, here I am, about to kill Epros in a bit though not yet, because I'm taking a huge break. I'm afraid I'll be owned.. Stan's Epros joke in this chapter is kind of…dumb. XD It's his sense of humor, I guess. Or mine.

On a side note, my little sister thinks Epros looks like a girl and his floating is creepy. I agree with the floating bit. It REALLY creeped me out at first.

Anyway. Beating more of it gave me ideas for this story! Enjoy! I think my favorite town is Triste and Madril. Triste town makes me feel SO SAD every time I enter it, though. It feels like Ari's home to me…So, what's going on with Ari? Hopefully you can find out a bit of it in here. And since I'm obsessed with Triste (just a little, though), you'll see more of it in later chapters.

_**Chapter 2:**_

_**Ari's "Accident"**_

As always, the Evil King Stan was fuming. "Accident? What sort of accident? Tell me, James, or I'll rip you a new –"

"She didn't really say. She just said that…you know, he couldn't even remember who his parents were." James attempted to cover up his blunder of not getting more information from the woman, Ari's mother, by telling his king all that he _did_ know. Needless to say, he was very embarrassed. "S-So, my lord, I'm sure that if he doesn't even know who the people who gave him life were, then he won't remember you."

"What are you talking about, James? Of course he'll remember me. I'm King Stanley Hihat Trinidad XIV. He'll remember. Go fetch him tomorrow using whatever means necessary. I wish to see him." Stan waved James off and attempted to continue his workload of kingly papers at his desk in his room. Still, the little _what if_ nibbled at the edges of his mind, refusing to let him work peacefully. What if he really didn't remember him? What if…

The door closed ominously as James left the room. Even cast in completely black shadows, Stan could still read and write things on the big, political pile of papers that were delivered to him daily, giving him no rest. This was the part of being King that Stan did not find fetching. But this was also why he needed to pet to help him relax with.

That was all he was thinking of everyday. How much use Ari would be to him.

But was that all he could think about? Was he just going to use Ari for his own benefit, and then toss him aside for someone else to pick up when he was bored?

Wait. That was exactly why he wanted Ari to be his pet.

No need to worry.

Right?

As he wrote his little kingly things on his kingly papers, Stan continued to think. How long was it since he last saw Ari? One year? Ten? Time was easily confused when you lived for hundreds of years at a time. Days melted into years too quickly for one to notice. Soon, all concern of the political papers was lost as the King racked his brain for a logical answer to his question. It couldn't have been too long, could it?

Refusing to admit defeat and call James into his room again, Stan stood and paced the room, thinking.

"It must have been at least a couple of years…then…because right after we finished the journey and split ways, I conquered that one place…" he muttered. Soon, his string of words became incoherent, and the meaning of them was lost. But suddenly, he burst out, "I haven't seen Ari for…one year? Two? Oh, wow. I thought I hadn't seen him for at least three months. Sucks for him, I suppose."

"Actually, my Lord…!" Once again, James invaded Stan's personal space as he appeared a couple of inches from his king's face. "You haven't seen him for three years."

"Three years!" The King exclaimed, raising his hands in the air and forgetting about James's clear lack of the meaning of the word, 'space.' "Where did the time go? In fact, I owe my throne to him – in a way – and I don't visit him for three years? That must be a lot of time for a human. Come on, James. We're going right now."

"But, my Lord…The boy could be unstable, and you must finish your work."

"Screw the work!" Stan shouted behind him as he swept out of his dark and gloomy room and into the light.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Evil King Stanley Hihat Trinidad XIV burst open the door to Ari's bedroom, ignoring protests from the said boy's parents and even James as they followed them all the way there. He surveyed the living space, finally realizing that it had changed quite a bit from when he last saw it.

Ari appeared to be sleeping, and around his bed were a few machines that had wires, which connected to different parts of his body. The whole room was trashed. It looked like a tornado hit it. His drawer had fallen and split open, pieces of wood on the floor, along with some dangerous bits of glass and a few of his clothes, which were torn and scattered, as well. Even the rug looked like someone had destroyed it with their bare hands. A thin layer of dust started to cover the mess. All of the damage ended up on the right side of the room. The boy's bed was on the left, and completely unaffected.

Ari himself was sleeping so soundly that Stan was beginning to think that he was dead. But a little heart monitor on the immediate right of the boy proved otherwise. His heartbeat was steady, though a little slow.

"What happened here? It looks like Epros hurled all over the floor." The King commented, chuckling slightly at his own joke. But when no one made a sound except for the whirring and beeping of the machines, he stopped. Thinking of the name _Epros_ made him ponder about their travels a little more deeply. But what happened to Ari? "Man. Woman." He said, ordering Ari's parents to explain. "Tell me what happened to him…and his room…is this even a room?"

"Ari just went bonkers one day after he lost his memory and destroyed his room. If we try and clean it he smashes stuff again," his father explained.

"Says he likes it that way," his mother continued.

"Sounds horrible!" James exclaimed. "See, Master? The boy is unfit to be your slave any further. What if he tries to destroy the castle, or your antique furniture?"

"Unless we cure him of his aggression," Stan said. "It should be easy. Now, what _happened_ to him?"

"One day he just…_left_," Ari's dad started. "He came wandering back here a month later, confused and not knowing who we were. So we took him back in. We assumed something happened to him."

"An accident," Ari's mom finished.

"Hmm…" Stan mused aloud. "There are many possibilities as to what happened to him. Perhaps we should take him in. If we care for him and try remedies to cure him, then maybe he will get his memory back…"

"But, Master –" James cut in.

"But nothing, James. Let's take him in. And no arguing from you two," The King pointed to Ari's parents. "He will be under good hands. Besides, I'm the King. You can't argue with me."

The boy's parents didn't know what to say. They left the room shortly, unsure of Stan's 'good intentions.'

The King crammed himself next to the boy's bed somehow, the machines taking up all the available room. He looked down at Ari, noticing how he had changed. After three years, the boy was about nineteen, but he still had a small build, even though he looked a tad older. He still had his bright red hair, and his skin was very pale, unlike Stan's. Although the Shadow King couldn't see the boy's eyes, he guessed they were still the same, wondrous shade of green that they were before.

It almost looked like Ari couldn't survive with all of those machines attached to him, so Stan ordered James to teleport everything back to his castle.

The King thought about how the journey had ended as he entered his home again. After he had gotten his human form again, he said a quick good-bye to everyone and left almost immediately. He knew that Rosalyn was still training to beat him (or so it said in the death threats that he had received from her), and Linda was a famous Teen Idol. Kisling also got famous off of his research of "classification" and ghosts, and Big Bull appeared here and there, calling him "brother" and leaving before Stan could get a chance to chop off his tail. Epros was probably with Linda, but the mysterious man could be anywhere at this point. Stan pondered a little more. So, did they all just leave Ari alone, then? Ari _was_ the sort of person that people could just forget.

Maybe he left his house to look for them, and he got attacked by monsters.

Stan curled his fingers into a fist. He should have been there for him.

Blinking, the King shook his head. Where did that sudden protectiveness come from? Oh well. Still, how had it been so easy to forget that Ari had even existed?

Stan remembered a little bit of when they visited Triste. After he stepped up on the power-amplifier at the back of the sewers, his memory lapsed and he was suddenly back in Ari's shadow in the strange town called Triste. Back then, he had forgotten who Ari was. He was just the King. Maybe it happened again?

But why didn't Ari have his memories?

Stan glared at the mirror in his room at himself, promising to restore Ari's memories and find out more about Triste.


	3. Amnesia

A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short…I'm sorry I haven't updated as well, I'll work on that. The next chapter should have a bit of action (and Epros, my favorite character!!) in it.

_**Chapter 3:**_

_**Amnesia**_

King Stanley refused to be anywhere else but in Ari's new room in his castle. Even though James assured him that he would greet him as he woke, Stan informed him that his appearance would be horrifying to a human. Reluctant, James had left the room to make some food.

The King's paperwork was piling up, but he was not one to care. Trying to be patient, Stan waited, yet again crammed in between machines on all sides, at Ari's bedside, a comfortable chair pulled up to aid him with his wait.

Stan sighed after about an hour of waiting. Why hadn't Ari woken up already? He even remained sound asleep while everyone was speaking earlier. Maybe he was just a deep sleeper. Still, the King worried.

The man reached out and took Ari's hand. The hand had been laying there, open and waiting for a while, and it seemed to have been taunting him to take it in the recent minutes. Absentmindedly, Stan stroked Ari's pale and sickly-looking hand, staring off into the wall.

There was a small rustling in the sheets, and following that was a moan. The King looked down at Ari interestedly. "Slave?" he asked him, hoping that would bring back his memory.

"Hmm? Who – who…?" The boy looked up at Stan sleepily. The King hoped that he just needed a memory jog from the three years they were apart. He must still be able to recognize him, right? "Who are you?" the boy finished. "Am I your…'slave'?"

"Yes, you are. Ari, you are my slave," King Stan said automatically.

"When did this happen? Who are you?"

"I am King Stanley Hihat Trinidad XIV."

"A…king?"

"Three years ago you were my slave…and now, you appeared to have lost your memory. I will not overlook that. You have to be my slave, regardless." Stan half-glared at Ari in anger, although he wasn't exactly sure why. But the other half of his look contained concern, and Ari picked up on it.

"Okay…but what about the weird people I lived with before?" he asked.

"Um. They wanted me to take you here. To help you heal. Are you sure you don't remember anything at all? …Maybe something about me?"

"No." The answer being short and simple, Ari looked around the room, interested in his surroundings now. He wanted it to be the end of his questioning as he took in the ornate carved walls and gold lining the only window in the room, so he was only a little cheesed off when Stan continued to speak.

"…Are you _sure_ you don't remember anything about me?"

"No, okay!?" Ari repeated, irritated. "I don't know anything about you, whatever-your-name-is."

"Fine." King Stan looked away from him, angry. Maybe it was a waste of time. "Well, I've got work to do. Just call James and he'll…help…" he muttered.

"Okay." Ari ignored Stan again and looked around the room, amazed.

The King left, looking back only once. He became so furious that he left the room and didn't check back on him for weeks.

On that day that the King chose to check on the slave, James was slacking – uh, taking a break. He leaned by a window and thought about leaving the castle to go bother Natasha again, when he saw a figure move across the harsh grassland that surrounded the King's castle. He focused his eye sockets on the thing, and then he realized that it was Ari.

"Oh my!! M…My Lord!" James sped across the many hallways and stairs until he was at his master's study, to tell him the news.

Well, the King was not happy.


	4. Epros

**A/N:** Sorry it's so short, especially since I made everyone wait so dang long...I promise more! I've been replaying Okage again and again and then felt bad since I haven't added anything. Thanks for everyone for favoriting my story! I didn't think anyone would like it!! And finally, thank you Instantaneous Death for beta-ing my story. Please enjoy!

P.S. I have a lot of homework so it's harder for me to get on...but I'll try...

P.S.S. Excuse Epros's crappy rhymes.

_**Chapter 4:**_

_**Epros**_

Ari huffed and puffed, his body weak and his head throbbing with hurt. _'That stupid king,'_ he thought, almost tripping over a stone. _'He tried to keep me prisoner! I wonder what he was going to do with me.'_ Sweaty from all of the walking and amazed that he hadn't been caught yet, the boy pushed back a piece of his fiery, red hair. He was only wearing the clothes that what's-his-face gave him, and he was starting to shiver in the cold wind. A plain, green shirt that matched his eyes and a pair of black pants adorned his body, and he carried nothing else with him.

He wanted to go back to the man and the woman's house, the people who called him their son. But he didn't know where that was. A desolate feeling stung him. How did he wind up like this? Yet again, he wracked his brains and couldn't remember.

Now, he was at a midway point, he could see. On one side of him lay a town on top of a lake or something, and on his other was a city made of gears.

Ari stood, shuddering slightly with cold, and decided to go inside the guarded city of steel. At least he wouldn't get cold there.

The big gears at the entranceway opened up for him as soon as he got near, and the boy stepped inside the city with no problems.

'_Nice security,'_ he mused, looking over everything.

The first thing that struck him was "serious pollution." And there was a lot of random gears everywhere. But at least it wasn't chilly anymore.

Ari explored, talked to random people that seemed to remember him (although he couldn't return the favor), and went down to the bottom floor quickly. He stopped at an inn and took a long nap, and then he broke into – uh, looked inside – every house he could find.

Nothing triggered his memory.

Finally, the boy got tired of wandering, and by now he was also starving. He went inside the last house. A sign advertised Mr. Big Inc.

A fat guy with fish lips was talking to a clerk at the counter. Ari had a faint longing to take a bite into that guy, but he knew it would have been rude to jump him.

'_I'll introduce myself first,'_ he reasoned, his stomach growling its unhappiness.

"Hello," Ari tugged on the suit that the fish guy was wearing, trying to look innocent before striking.

"Uh…who're you? Oh…it's Ari? Nice to see you again."

"I know you?" All of Ari's dreams of eating were shattered. What if this guy was important to his past? Besides, he was smoking, and that would have been bad for his health if he ate him.

"What's wrong with you, Ari? You forgot me? I'm the Chairman of Mr. Big Inc., remember?"

"No, I don't." The boy replied flatly. What was with all of these people and big egos?

"Well, anyway," the Chairman continued. "What are you doing wandering the streets all by yourself?"

"I'm lost, Sir."

"Really?" The Chairman scratched his head. "You look so confused. Well, one of the last times I saw you, you got a key to open up the Transverse Tunnel. Why not try stumbling back there? You might remember something."

"…Uh…okay…where is that?"

"You'll see a huge statue in the middle of Rumile Plain…"

"Where's that?"

"Go upstairs and leave the city that way. That's Rumile Plain."

"Ooh, I was just there! Thanks, freaky fish guy!" Ari ran out of the building happily. Maybe wherever he was going had food. He heard shouting back from the company building. Maybe he touched a nerve with the fish thing…

Still, the boy had an extra spring in his step. He went upstairs and left the steel metropolis through the big gears that didn't really protect the said city, and he entered Rumile Plain.

Ari found the statue in the middle of the plain easily, and he sped through Transverse Tunnel quickly. Unknowing of the cold, his shoes touched the snowy ground on the other side, and he yelped because of the biting cold.

"There's no food here!" he screamed into the frosty air.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

When King Stan wasn't happy, no one else was.

He searched Ari's house and village. He dispatched search parties all through Madril, but to no avail. No one said anything about his whereabouts, except for the Chairman of Mr. Big Inc. He told one of the members of the searching crew that Ari was headed through Transverse Tunnel.

'_Transverse Tunnel,'_ the King pondered, after he was told the news. _'He could get hurt. But…the ghosts haven't appeared for a long time now. He shouldn't get attacked, but I'm still scared for him. …Strange, I haven't cared this much for someone in…years…'_

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Ari took a short break in Pospos Spa, and then set off through the snowfield itself. He reached some gigantic gates, knocked, and heard a voice.

"Hello? Who is there?" The dead-sounding voice asked.

"Um…Ari…"

"Ari? Is that you? Come in…" The gates opened shortly, and the boy was beginning to think he was some sort of celebrity. He was known so well throughout the country.

'_If I'm a celebrity, then there should be some food for me here that people will throw at me and beg me to eat!'_

Unfortunately, the boy pretty much had a one-track mind.

Ari entered the town of Triste excitedly, only to find that it was practically deserted. However, a merchant who knew him took pity on his sob-story and gave him some food of nuts to eat.

The boy munched on the nuts happily, his small stomach satiated quickly. He wanted a drink of water, so he went back out and ate some snow. Then, he explored the city, whose residents were recluses and boring. Finally, he found a passageway out the back alley.

Searing heat in the desert made Ari want to go back, but something caught his eye. A person was talking to himself off in the distance. Moreover, the person was…floating?

Ari chased down the person silently, and, hiding behind a huge crumpled statue, listened.

"Oh, how alone I am all the time! No matter how many times the bells chime…I, by my lonesome self stand…so, am I that bland?" The man really was speaking to himself.

Ari watched him, mesmerized. The man wore face paint, all white except for his eyes. There was purple eye shadow around his eyelids, and some eyeliner, as well. He had thick, blonde curls, and a snazzy-looking tux and red pants. And he really was floating! The boy wanted to comfort him, but his silky voice spouted more words.

"Valor I wish I could possess, and then, my life might progress!"

"E-Excuse me…I don't wish to interrupt your poetry session…but…Who are you? Are you alone?" Ari finally decided to step out from behind the statue and officially encounter the strange person.

"Oh, why, it's Ari! I must say I am very sorry," the blonde man floated toward the boy and let himself hang in the air like a limp doll above him. "Thou dost not remember me? How many years have we spent apart, free? Has your brain turned to mush? Or, perhaps, it has been crushed? Maybe I _am_ that bland? For I, by myself, stand."

"Um…I don't remember anything anymore…And why do you rhyme so much?"

"Ah, if thy dost not remember…then, your memory has dissolved into mere embers. When you first met me, I used to be known as Phantom Evil King. Danger and trouble I used to bring. Yet in my plight, I was revealed as Epros. And by thy side I used to fight."

"Epros? That name doesn't bring me any closer to remembering anything. Nor does Phantom Evil King." Ari scratched his head, partially because Epros's rhymes were starting to confuse him a little, but only because of all of the information he was giving him.

"I see, I see. I think this is now all up to me. Come, Ari. Let us head over to my home, the Gear Tower, and there, I shall renew your power."

"Sounds great!" Ari agreed, hoping that Epros had food. He watched as the strange man floated over to where his "house" was, the Gear Tower. Unbeknownst to Ari, Epros had been all alone for three long years, just like him. The phantom was delighted to finally have someone to talk with, even though his friend of sorts had lost his memory of him. But now, all Epros had to do was convince Ari to stay with him forever, since he couldn't remember Stan and all of those other idiots.

Then, the phantom would have lovely company all the time.

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Epros's lips.

**A/N: **Oh no! What does Epros have planned for Ari!? Stay tuned!


	5. Search

**A/N:** Hey! Sorry it took me sooo long to update! This chapter was lying around and I had no uploaded it. I think my writing style's gotten better, but the next chap. should show it more. ^_^ I hope you enjoy! Some action's gonna happen in the next chapter, finally! (Fighting)

_**Chapter 5:**_

_**Search**_

Stan wasn't the one who was actually doing the physical looking for Ari at first. Instead, he sat at his desk every day, filling out papers, organizing the conquest of various lands, and receiving no information from his search parties of the boy's whereabouts. After their lead in Madril, the search went virtually nowhere. No more leads were found, and the people he recruited for the searching complained a lot. Most of them assumed Ari was dead somewhere, buried under the snow of Pospos snowfield. As soon as the King heard this, he fired them all, cleared space in his schedule, and went off to search for Ari himself.

James had another date with Natasha and told Stan that he could call him if he needed his assistance, but Stan maintained that he didn't need any help at all. He barely packed anything because he could return to his castle quickly through his magic whenever he wanted. After gathering his bearings, he finally took one step outside the castle, and felt completely and utterly alone. Before turning tail and heading back inside, he decided that Evil Kings did things themselves and were never scared of anything, so he continued.

Unfortunately, Stan had a different way of "searching." If someone didn't tell him what he wanted to hear, he threatened them by telling them he'd twist their necks off. After scaring them senseless and deciding they really didn't have any information, he would leave the house and try not to blow it up, which was a step up from before he was locked in the bottle. Back then, if he wanted something, he'd kill everyone and everything in his path.

Once Madril was thoroughly searched, Stan was about to head off into Rashelo, however, he heard a familiar woman's voice forced him to pause.

"_Evil King Stanley!_" Rosalyn screamed, appearing from behind a giant gear. "I've trained to no end, and now, I promise I will kill you and return my shadow back to its normal color!"

"If I'm dead, how is your shadow going to return back to normal?" Stan asked dryly.

Rosalyn faltered for a second, her pink parasol almost dropping from her gloved hands, but then, she continued. "Fine! I will defeat you first, then, once you return my shadow, I'll kill you!" She pointed her umbrella at him, revealing her previously mentioned pink shadow for a moment.

"No thanks. I'd much rather die first," Stan taunted. "Then you'd never get your shadow back." Feeling particularly playful, he stuck his tongue out at her and said, "Don't bother me. We'll have our battle some other time."

"What, exactly, are you doing?" She asked, her yellow eyes aflame with rage, and her blonde hair shaking as she trembled with anger.

"Ask any other person here in Madril. I'm…looking for Ari." Stan's voice softened slightly at the mention of the boy and his urgent mission to locate him before something bad happened.

"Ari?" Rosalyn stopped threatening Stan for a second. "Gosh. I haven't seen him for quite a long time…"

"Three years, to be exact," the King corrected her furiously. "And I have to find him before something terrible happens to him."

"I didn't think the Great Evil King cared about anyone but himself," Rosalyn said.

"I don't! It's just…I feel bad for leaving him. I found him a couple weeks ago, but he had lost all of his memory and then ran away from me a few days back."

"Gee, I wonder why," Rosalyn commented, even though she still felt bad for Ari. Before Stan could call her a fat cow as retaliation, she told him, "Well, I have to go."

"…Huh? Why?" Stan questioned, caught off guard by her sudden change of heart. Could she possibly be leaving him alone for once just because he was looking for the boy?

"Uh, I think I left the stove on back home." The Hero ran off quickly before the King could say anything. Rosalyn didn't want Stan to catch onto her. She decided she would find Ari first, and use him against Stan. In order to do so, she had to work fast. Immediately, she was leaving the city of Madril by the big gears while the King scratched his head, confused.

"Stupid woman and her girly hobbies," Stan muttered, falling for her fake excuse. "I'd better leave before she comes back from cooking."

So he investigated Rashelo next, ate some fish, and then headed for Transverse Tunnel, where he was sure Ari would be.

Stan trekked through Pospos snowfield, and then, he finally reached the gates of Triste. They were shut tight, and although he knocked, he could not hear the voice of K.T. asking for who he was. For a while, Stan was stumped, pacing back and forth in front of the gate.

Then he remembered he was _Evil King_ Stan, and pummeled the large gate over and over again. He then started to use magic while still punching the gate, and it came crashing down beneath his fingers.

He composed himself and entered Triste, recognizing it instantly. He could not see the scared civilians, wide-eyed and pointing at him. When he accidentally came near one or more of them, they would scatter and enter a house for safety.

Stan exited through the back alley of Triste. He recoiled from the heat of the desert, but continued on anyway. He was reaching near the end of all the charted territories of the world. All that was left was Highland Village and the Great Library. However, a thought entered his head, making him worry even more.

What if Ari had managed to find some other place, far beyond their borders, and far away from safety? The entire world had not been explored yet.

But then he remembered that Ari was just Ari, and he couldn't do anything that amazing unless he was behind him, driving him on. Now that only a little bit of the known territories were left, Ari was sure to be around somewhere. He couldn't hide that well from Evil King Stan.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Epros was watching Stan from behind a dilapidated head of a half sand-covered statue. The magician narrowed his red eyes. So the King really was searching for Ari. He had to throw him off their trail somehow.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Ari was happy. These past couple of days yielded joy for him. Epros served him tea and other yummy things daily, and the Gear tower, with its peculiar plants growing over the mechanical gears inside, was homey and provided him good shelter from the desert. He never left the tower, and Epros was always there, rhyming and telling him cool things. He didn't ever want to leave.

One day, Epros came back from outside, looking pestered about something.

"What's wrong, Epros?" the boy asked innocently.

"Stan is outside looking for thee. I think we should both leave, see, he would not be pleased if he saw thou with me."

Ari followed what Epros was saying. He started to worry because he didn't think that the strange king would ever start searching for him. The boy felt bad. "You know, I think only I should leave, since Stan is looking for me…"

"Oh, no, dear Ari, if thou did that, thou would be very sorry. Only I could protect thee, for the king would catch you before you could flee," Epros said.

"I guess you're right, but…"

The phantom stopped the boy before he could protest any longer. He convinced him to get up and leave with him. The boy took one last, long look at the Gear Tower before exiting it with the magician, who, for once, didn't float off. He instead held Ari's hand as they started to cross the desert.

Epros knew they were moving too slow, and before he could try and decide which direction they could go first, he heard a voice that made him stop cold for a second. If he had been floating, he probably would have fallen to the ground because of the amount of venom injected into the words.

"What the hell are you doing with him, phantom?" Evil King Stan asked, crossing his arms and glaring at Epros. "Unhand Ari."

0o0oo0oo0o0o0o0o

**A/N:** I have a question for you guys. Who do you think Ari should go with...? Thank you! I really hope it all ends well for them. ^^;;


	6. Fight

**_Disclaimer:_** I don't own Okage: Shadow King. If I did, I'd have made a sequel!

**_A/N:_** Hey, guys, I'm really sorry it's taking so long to update. I keep feeling like stopping the story because I personally don't think it's good, and the plot needed a lot of work. However, I got an idea and just finished the chapter, which I had started a bit after I uploaded the last one so long ago. I hope you like it!

_**Chapter 6:**_

_**Fight**_

"It's S-Stan," Ari stuttered, looking up at the king with fear in his heart. Last he remembered, Stanley was short-tempered and full of himself, but he never remembered him looking as evil and mean as he did now. The boy was actually scared, and hoped he didn't try and hurt Epros.

The phantom, meanwhile, was staring up at Stan with a calm, cold look in his eyes. He took it upon himself to protect Ari, and wouldn't let the king scare him with a mere glare, a few words, and a couple of hand gestures. He didn't just stare at him; instead, he attempted to draw himself up to his full height and size Stan up. Although he was powerful before, Epros had learned a few more powerful magic spells to counter enemies in the three years that they had all grown apart.

Stan stared back at Epros with an unrelenting grimace, not acknowledging that Ari seemed to have remembered his name now, at the very least. He uncrossed his arms and suddenly smiled, his teeth flashing a brilliant white, and one of his demonic-looking fangs sticking out over his bottom lip. "I never liked you, phantom," he chuckled. "So I have no problems fighting you over Ari."

"Of course, how considerate of you, for I have no qualms about quarreling, too," Epros taunted back. He was about to say something else when Ari interrupted.

"Look, you guys, I don't know what's going on, or why you hate each other, but please, please don't fight or anything. Especially if it's over me," he pleaded, his voice rising at the last syllable of his sentence.

"Why ever shall we not? After all, we're in a tight spot," Epros replied, a little stunned.

Before Ari lost his memory, he probably wouldn't have said anything about both of them fighting. If they were on their journey, then most likely Rosalyn or Kisling would have prevented the two rivals from ripping each other's throats out. In fact, if he had ever said anything at all in their previous adventure to get anyone to stop doing anything, no one would have even heard him, because as was mentioned many times before, Ari was a completely overshadowed person. His personality was not well-known to anyone, or rather, was extremely nonexistent. Did he change so much just because he lost a few recollections? Epros couldn't remember if Ari had acted this way in the Gear Tower, either.

Stan was also as surprised as Epros was at Ari's little outburst, but he tried not to show it. "Ari, why don't you merely stand back and watch me totally destroy this dumb, rhyming phantom?"

"Because I don't want to see two of my friends fighting over something so stupid!" Ari yelled back. The word "friends" slipped out of his mouth unknowingly. He wanted to take it back, but it felt too natural. He hoped no one else heard it. The boy didn't want them to think that he was starting to regain his lost memories.

Epros pretended to take no notice of his use of the word, but abruptly, Stan got bashful.

"Um, err…" The Evil King tried to retaliate, his comebacks melting away into the back of his mind. He had assumed all of this time that he had to drag Ari back, kicking and screaming, to his castle, but now he was glad that he was beginning to see things his way.

"One word; and your cold heart starts to flutter?" Epros snapped. "Perhaps your brain is also made of butter."

At those words, Stan went back to his old self. "Shut up, phantom!" he shouted at him. "I'm not a sap or anything! I'm just shocked that Ari thinks of me that way already…"

"Why wouldn't I?" Ari questioned. "Under all that 'evil king' stuff, I'm sure you're just hiding some of your true feelings. After all, we used to travel together, right?" He was winging it to make up for the slip, but no one else could tell that he was.

"That's exactly how I am," Stan harrumphed, turning his face to the side and acting like he was all-important. "I'm glad my slave knows exactly the kind of person I am."

Epros sighed and shook his head of blonde curls from side to side. Exasperated, he said to Ari, "I suppose this is goodbye, my friend, for my opinions I do not intend to defend." He started to float above the sands of the Addashi Desert slowly and warily, incase Stan was going to blast him from behind. It wouldn't be below the king.

Ari's brilliant emerald-green eyes widened. "Wait, Epros, I didn't want you to leave," he said. "Why can't we all be friends like we were before?"

"We all had a common purpose," Stan cut in. "We all worked toward something: the defeat of that Be-whatever guy. But now we can do what we want, and we'd much rather not be near each other. Besides, his rhyming is annoying."

"I think it's cool," Ari said firmly. This caused Epros to alight back on the ground and smile at Stan as though he had won.

"_Whatever_!" the Evil King replied. "Let's think about this. Epros, why don't you just give me Ari and you can keep floating around and doing whatever you want to do?" he asked. "I'm going to take him from you anyway."

"No way! Nay, I say!" the phantom glared at Stan now. He moved to stand in front of him, and although he was shorter, he still appeared formidable.

"Why don't I choose?" Ari questioned, trying to shake off the familiarity he felt when Stan mentioned the adventure they had embarked upon before he lost his memory.

"Alright, then, choose," Stan huffed, looking away from Epros.

After a tense silence, with all hearts pounding, Ari had his answer. "I choose to be alone. I don't think I'd want to cut in between anyone. So I want to live my life without either of you breathing down my neck. You guys are being strange, anyway." He moved himself a couple of paces away from both of the men, the Gear Tower still visible in the barren landscape. Little twirls of spinning sand kicked up behind his black, tattered shoes. He expected them to run or float to him, beg for forgiveness, and promise to grudgingly be nice to each other. However, these were no ordinary love-struck people.

Epros and Stan took one look at each other and began to fight.

"You stupid phantom! Look what you've done!" Stan started, trying to punch him in the face.

The former Phantom Evil King dodged immediately and furrowed his brow. "It was all you, you stupid Shadow King! It's your neck you should want to wring!" He took out a card of his and murmured an enchantment. Stan laughed at him and said that throwing a playing card wasn't going to get him anywhere, but all of a sudden a small ball full of magic appeared in front of him, and he was getting ready to aim it at Stan's head.

The king jumped back and got down on all fours, growled, and prepared himself to tackle him before he could try to hit him with it.

"Guys! What are you doing!?" Ari immediately ran in the middle of the path between them. "Stop this insanity! It's neither of you guys' fault!"

The only reason they stopped was because Ari was in the way. Epros stopped his magic, although it drained more energy out of him than it would have if he fired the ball at Stan, and stood straight. Stan did the same, standing back on two feet and hiding his fangs back into his mouth.

"What the heck is your problem!?" The boy yelled.

There was a large silence between everyone. Ari shook his head after the silence had grown too large, and told them both off, calling them big-headed nitwits. Epros was about to say something in the middle of his being yelled at, but Ari gave him a glare that silenced him. For the first time, Ari was being listened to.

Once the lecture was done, Ari took both of their hands and forced them to shake on never fighting again. Stan tried to cross his fingers behind his back as he murmured his oath, but Ari caught him and snatched the other hand, as well. It was funny because the small boy was actually restraining them, two people who were so much stronger than him.

The boy then forced them all to go inside the Gear Tower and rest. Stan, of course, grumbled, but then agreed, only because he liked the feel of Ari's fingers against his own as he led him into Epros's home.

Epros got quiet as Ari tried to start conversation between all of them. "Group therapy" was what he called it. It was obvious that he thought they just hated each other; he had no idea that they both had crushes on him.

They listened to him and talked only a little bit until night fell. Before trying to fall asleep, Epros wondered what went wrong. He was sure Ari liked him. Had he only imagined the blush staining the boy's cheeks whenever he handed him a cup of tea, their skin touching for only a second?

The phantom sadly lay down on top of some soft moss that was growing on the bottom of the Gear Tower, near the entrance of the building. It felt almost like a mattress, the spongy stuff shooting upwards about a few inches. Although he had no sheets, or a pillow, Epros decided to start his nightly rest. On the other side of the only room in the Tower, Stan was nobly giving up his black suit jacket to Ari so he could have something to cover himself with. Epros genuinely ignored his actions, and his patience was rewarded when Ari slapped Stan in the face once he had tried to convince him to use his bare chest as a pillow.

The blush was still on Ari's face from Stan's offer when Epros dozed off, losing consciousness with their wacky world and starting to dream of happier, less lonely days. Ari felt horrible for having him sleep by himself, but he obviously seemed to need some time alone.

Ari's face was in Epros's direction, watching him sleep, staring at his body going up and down lightly as he took breaths of clean air from the plants in the Tower. Stan was sleeping right next to the boy, and he was beginning to snore loudly. The king's arms were crossed on his unclothed chest, and even as he slept, his face was contorted in some sort of anger.

A moment before the teen's eyes fluttered downward, a dark, tentacle-like thing smashed through the metal door of the Gear Tower, wrapped itself around Epros, and took the groggy, yet struggling phantom away.

Ari jumped up quickly, his heart pounding, and immediately started to follow the fray outside the Tower and into the desert, screaming Epros's name and fearing the worst when he heard no reply, and worst of all, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, no Epros or monster.

**_A/N:_** Thank you all for voting for the couples. Even though I still don't know who'll end up together. xDDD I suppose it'll be a surprise to all of us. I wonder what'll happen to Epros!? Will Stan help Ari look for him? Who would want to kidnap Epros? He doesn't have any connections, does he? Hopefully the story will start to get interesting now!!

Also, I'm going to start another Okage story thing, only this time it's my own writing challenge of those 100 drabble things everyone's doing (I don't know if there's already a list of themes somewhere, so I'm just going to be making them up myself)! xD I really want to see how I'd do. Most of them will probably be from Ari's point of view. I'll attempt to get it done in 100 days. I've wanted to start on other Okage stories, but I really don't think I'd stick to them (after all, this story is going badly already), so this seems like a nice thing I could do to test myself, and make tons of mini-stories. ^^ Please check it out! Thanks for everyone so far for reviewing this story!!


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